Due to extensive security concerns, Pakistan and India have changed plans for their leg of the Olympic torch relay. Pakistan's event will now be held in an indoor stadium and the distance of the India relay will be shortened considerably.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India have changed plans for their Olympic torch runs because of worries about security and anti-China protests on the eve of the start of the torch's tour of Asia and Australia.

The torch, touring the world ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August, has become a magnet for protests against China's policies, in particular its crackdown last month on unrest in Tibet.

The torch will arrive in Islamabad on Wednesday on the first leg of its relay in Asia as it makes its way to the Beijing.

Officials in Pakistan, a close ally of China, said that they did not expect anti-China protests but that they had changed the venue for the torch run for security reasons.

"As such there's no threat but, obviously, because of the overall security environment, we didn't want to take a chance," said Lieutenant Colonel Baseer Haider, a spokesman for the Pakistan Olympic Association.

Source: iht.com

The Olympic association had hoped to hold a torch run along Islamabad's main boulevard in front of Parliament, but the event will now be held inside a nearby sports stadium.

India has also shortened the route of its torch relay on Thursday, fearing that Tibetan protesters might try to disrupt the procession.

The final route is still to be announced, but media reported the torch will travel less than a third of the original 9-kilometer distance, or 5 miles, in a heavily guarded New Delhi neighborhood.

Source: iht.com